List of State of the Union addresses explained

This is a list of State of the Union addresses. The State of the Union is the constitutionally mandated annual report by the president of the United States, the head of the U.S. federal executive departments, to the United States Congress, the U.S. federal legislative body.^[1]

William Henry Harrison (1841) and James A. Garfield (1881) died in their first year in office without delivering a State of the Union.

Before 1933, the State of the Union was delivered at the end of the calendar year. The ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933 changed the opening of Congress from early March to early January, affecting the delivery of the annual message. There was none in 1933, and since 1934 it has been in January, February or March.^[2]

There were unofficial addresses by incoming presidents in 1981, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2009, 2017 and 2021.

List

Year	President	Format	Date	Word Count^[3]	Time (Minutes)^[4]
Jan 1790	George Washington	Spoken	Jan. 8	1,089	Unknown
Dec 1790			Dec. 8	1,401
1791			Oct. 25	2,302
1792			Nov. 6	2,101
1793			Dec. 3	1,968
1794			Nov. 19	2,918
1795			Dec. 8	1,989
1796			Dec. 7	2,871
1797	John Adams	Spoken	Nov. 22	2,063
1798			Dec. 8	2,218
1799			Dec. 3	1,505
1800			Nov. 22	1,372
1801	Thomas Jefferson	Written	Dec. 8	3,224
1802			Dec. 15	2,197
1803			Oct. 17	2,263
1804			Nov. 8	2,096
1805			Dec. 3	2,927
1806			Dec. 2	2,860
1807			Oct. 27	2,384
1808			Nov. 8	2,675
1809	James Madison	Written	Nov. 29	1,831
1810			Dec. 5	2,446
1811			Nov. 5	2,273
1812			Nov. 4	3,242
1813			Dec. 7	3,257
1814			Sep. 20	2,111
1815			Dec. 5	3,146
1816			Dec. 3	3,364
1817	James Monroe	Written	Dec. 12	4,418
1818			Nov. 16	4,376
1819			Dec. 7	4,702
1820			Nov. 14	3,446
1821			Dec. 3	5,814
1822			Dec. 3	4,723
1823			Dec. 2	6,358
1824			Dec. 7	8,400
1825	John Quincy Adams	Written	Dec. 6	8,985
1826			Dec. 5	7,705
1827			Dec. 4	6,917
1828			Dec. 2	7,282
1829	Andrew Jackson	Written	Dec. 8	10,525
1830			Dec. 6	15,114
1831			Dec. 6	7,178
1832			Dec. 4	7,863
1833			Dec. 3	7,877
1834			Dec. 1	13,411
1835			Dec. 7	10,825
1836			Dec. 5	12,367
1837	Martin Van Buren	Written	Dec. 5	11,449
1838			Dec. 3	11,488
1839			Dec. 2	13,431
1840			Dec. 5	8,991
	William Henry Harrison
1841	John Tyler	Written	Dec. 7	8,241
1842			Dec. 6	8,417
1843			Dec. 5	8,036
1844			Dec. 3	9,318
1845	James K. Polk	Written	Dec. 2	16,111
1846			Dec. 8	18,222
1847			Dec. 7	16,414
1848			Dec. 5	21,309
1849	Zachary Taylor	Written	Dec. 4	7,617
1850	Millard Fillmore	Written	Dec. 2	8,322
1851			Dec. 2	13,244
1852			Dec. 6	9,929
1853	Franklin Pierce	Written	Dec. 5	9,590
1854			Dec. 4	10,139
1855			Dec. 31	11,612
1856			Dec. 2	10,486
1857	James Buchanan	Written	Dec. 8	13,655
1858			Dec. 6	16,349
1859			Dec. 19	12,336
1860			Dec. 3	14,049
1861	Abraham Lincoln	Written	Dec. 3	6,987
1862			Dec. 1	8,385
1863			Dec. 8	6,114
1864			Dec. 6	5,865
1865	Andrew Johnson	Written	Dec. 4	9,232
1866			Dec. 3	7,134
1867			Dec. 3	12,002
1868			Dec. 9	9,834
1869	Ulysses S. Grant	Written	Dec. 6	7,706
1870			Dec. 5	8,743
1871			Dec. 4	6,459
1872			Dec. 2	10,102
1873			Dec. 1	10,026
1874			Dec. 7	9,819
1875			Dec. 7	12,211
1876			Dec. 5	6,799
1877	Rutherford B. Hayes	Written	Dec. 3	10,724
1878			Dec. 2	7,879
1879			Dec. 1	11,635
1880			Dec. 6	13,347
	James A. Garfield
1881	Chester A. Arthur	Written	Dec. 6	13,321
1882			Dec. 4	10,274
1883			Dec. 4	8,363
1884			Dec. 1	8,917
1885	Grover Cleveland	Written	Dec. 8	19,960
1886			Dec. 6	15,285
1887			Dec. 6	5,290
1888			Dec. 3	13,226
1889	Benjamin Harrison	Written	Dec. 1	13,004
1890			Dec. 1	11,522
1891			Dec. 9	16,306
1892			Dec. 6	13,680
1893	Grover Cleveland	Written	Dec. 4	12,282
1894			Dec. 3	15,892
1895			Dec. 2	14,670
1896			Dec. 7	15,453
1897	William McKinley	Written	Dec. 6	12,113
1898			Dec. 5	20,224
1899			Dec. 5	22,831
1900			Dec. 3	19,142
1901	Theodore Roosevelt	Written	Dec. 3	19,616
1902			Dec. 5	9,782
1903			Dec. 7	14,943
1904			Dec. 6	17,415
1905			Dec. 5	25,071
1906			Dec. 3	23,609
1907			Dec. 3	27,397
1908			Dec. 8	19,411
1909	William Howard Taft	Written	Dec. 7	13,901
1910			Dec. 6	27,651
1911			Dec. 5	23,744
1912			Dec. 3	25,161
1913	Woodrow Wilson	Spoken	Dec. 2	3,553	Unknown
1914			Dec. 8	4,537
1915			Dec. 7	7,687
1916			Dec. 5	2,118
1917			Dec. 4	3,913
1918			Dec. 2	5,463
1919		Written	Dec. 2	4,756
1920			Dec. 7	2,706
1921	Warren G. Harding	Spoken	Dec. 6	5,606	Unknown
1922			Dec. 8	5,748
1923	Calvin Coolidge	Spoken	Dec. 6	6,706
1924		Written	Dec. 3	6,968
1925			Dec. 8	10,848
1926			Dec. 7	10,305
1927			Dec. 6	8,777
1928			Dec. 4	8,061
1929	Herbert Hoover	Written	Dec. 3	10,994
1930			Dec. 5	4,536
1931			Dec. 8	5,682
1932			Dec. 6	4,201
1933
1934	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Spoken	Jan. 3	2,230	Unknown
1935			Jan. 4	3,525
1936			Jan. 3	3,826	50^[5]
1937			Jan. 6	2,732	Unknown
1938			Jan. 3	4,697
1939			Jan. 4	3,768
1940			Jan. 3	3,196
1941			Jan. 6	3,312
1942			Jan. 6	3,511
1943			Jan. 7	4,588
1944		Written	Jan. 11	3,805
1945			Jan. 6	8,211
1946	Harry S. Truman	Written	Jan. 21	27,465
1947		Spoken	Jan. 6	6,028	Unknown
1948			Jan. 7	5,094
1949			Jan. 5	3,401
1950			Jan. 4	5,130
1951			Jan. 8	3,994
1952			Jan. 9	5,369
1953		Written	Jan. 7	9,683
1953	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Spoken	Feb. 2	6,973	56^[6]
1954			Jan. 7	5,985	52^[7]
1955			Jan. 6	7,250	53
1956		Written	Jan. 5	8,265
1957		Spoken	Jan. 10	4,137	33^[8]
1958			Jan. 9	4,915	44^[9]
1959			Jan. 9	4,933	42^[10]
1960			Jan. 7	5,633	45 ^[11]
1961		Written	Jan. 12	6,210
1961	John F. Kennedy	Spoken	Jan. 30	5,274	43^[12]
1962			Jan. 11	6,569	53^[13]
1963			Jan. 14	5,470	43^[14]
1964	Lyndon B. Johnson	Spoken	Jan. 8	3,168	41
1965			Jan. 4	4,399	47
1966			Jan. 12	5,542	51
1967			Jan. 10	7,195	71
1968			Jan. 17	4,914	50
1969			Jan. 14	4,115	44
1970	Richard Nixon	Spoken	Jan. 22	4,457	37
1971			Jan. 22	4,508	33
1972			Jan. 20	3,976	29
1973		Written	Feb. 2	27,147
1974		Spoken	Jan. 30	5,144	43
1975	Gerald Ford	Spoken	Jan. 15	4,126	41
1976			Jan. 19	4,948	51
1977			Jan. 12	4,727	45
1978	Jimmy Carter	Spoken	Jan. 19	4,580	46
1979			Jan. 25	3,257	33
1980			Jan. 21	3,412	32
1981		Written	Jan. 16	33,667
1981	Ronald Reagan	Spoken	Feb. 18	4,446	33
1982			Jan. 26	5,154	40
1983			Jan. 25	5,554	46
1984			Jan. 25	4,931	43
1985			Feb. 6	4,214	40
1986			Feb. 4	3,514	31
1987			Jan. 27	3,847	35
1988			Jan. 25	4,955	44
1989	George H. W. Bush	Spoken	Feb. 9	4,811	48
1990			Jan. 31	3,777	36
1991			Jan. 29	3,823	47
1992			Jan. 28	5,012	51
1993	Bill Clinton	Spoken	Feb. 17	7,003	66
1994			Jan. 25	7,432	64
1995			Jan. 24	9,190	85
1996			Jan. 23	6,317	67
1997			Feb. 4	6,774	64
1998			Jan. 27	7,303	77
1999			Jan. 19	7,514	79
2000			Jan. 27	7,452	89
2001	George W. Bush	Spoken	Feb. 27	4,362	49
2002			Jan. 29	3,878	48
2003			Jan. 28	5,413	60
2004			Jan. 20	5,229	54
2005			Feb. 2	5,096	53
2006			Jan. 31	5,323	51
2007			Jan. 23	5,590	49
2008			Jan. 28	5,760	53
2009	Barack Obama	Spoken	Feb. 24	5,902	52
2010			Jan. 27	7,304	69
2011			Jan. 25	6,878	62
2012			Jan. 24	7,059	65
2013			Feb. 12	6,775	60
2014			Jan. 28	6,989	65
2015			Jan. 20	6,718	60
2016			Jan. 12	6,044	59
2017	Donald Trump	Spoken	Feb. 28	5,006	60
2018			Jan. 30	5,839	81
2019			Feb. 5	5,540	82
2020			Feb. 4	6,217	78
2021	Joe Biden	Spoken	Apr. 28	8,003	65
2022			Mar. 1	7,705	62
2023			Feb. 7	9,216	73
2024			Mar. 7	8,078	67

See also

• • List of joint sessions of the United States Congress

External links

• American Presidency Project (UCSB.edu) - Table of all States of the Union

Notes and References

1. Web site: U.S. Senate: About Traditions & Symbols State of the Union . 2024-03-06 . www.senate.gov.
2. Web site: The Speech: Where and When . History, Art & Archives.
3. Web site: Length of State of the Union Messages and Addresses in Words. Gerhard. Peters. The American Presidency Project. March 11, 2024.
4. Web site: Length of State of the Union Addresses in Minutes (from 1964). Gerhard. Peters. The American Presidency Project. March 12, 2024.
5. Web site: The First Evening Annual Message. Office of the Historian of the House of Representatives. March 13, 2024.
6. News: GOP Greets President With Cheer a Minute. February 3, 1953. Philadelphia Inquirer. 2. March 14, 2024. Hand clapping was heard 55 times during the 56-minute speech, mostly from the GOP side of the aisle..
7. Web site: Speeches. August 14, 2023. Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home. United States National Archives. March 14, 2024.
8. News: Ike In Plea For Vigilance. January 11, 1957. Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. 1. March 14, 2024. Dressed in a conservative gray business suit, Eisenhower stood for 33 minutes before a combined, undemonstrative Senate-House session in the klieg-lit House chamber..
9. News: First Lady Receives Double Ovation in House Gallery. January 10, 1958. The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. 9. March 14, 2024.
10. News: Ike Challenges Democrats In 'State of Union' Speech. January 10, 1959. Great Falls Tribune. 1. March 14, 2024.
11. Web site: January 7, 1960: State of the Union Address. Miller Center. 13 July 2023 . University of Virginia. March 13, 2024.
12. Web site: January 30, 1961: State of the Union. Miller Center. 20 October 2016 . University of Virginia. March 13, 2024.
13. Web site: January 11, 1962: State of the Union Address. Miller Center. 20 October 2016 . University of Virginia. March 13, 2024.
14. Web site: January 14, 1963: State of the Union Address. Miller Center. 20 October 2016 . University of Virginia. March 13, 2024.